Tuesday, November 25, 2014

Here are inspirational quotes from 10 ladies with the
world's coolest jobs in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM),
according to CNN.

Karen Nyberg,
Astronaut

"When I was in high school, I was certain that being an
astronaut was my goal. It was a very important time -- Sally Ride was making
her first flight into space and she had a real impact on me. Those 'firsts'
kind of stick in your head and really become inspirations for you."

Zaha Hadid, Architect

"I used to not like being called a 'woman architect.'
I'm an architect, not just a woman architect. The guys used to tap me on the
head and say 'you're OK for a girl.' But I see an incredible amount of need
from other women for reassurance that it can be done, so I don't mind
anymore."

Fabiola Gianotti,
Higgs Boson Physicist

"This job is a great scientific adventure. But it's
also a great human adventure. Mankind has made giant steps forward. However,
what we know is really very, very little compared to what we still have to
know."

Marissa Mayer, CEO of
Yahoo (Former Engineer at Google)

"People ask me all the time: 'What is it like to be a
woman at Google?' I'm not a woman at Google, I'm a geek at Google. And being a
geek is just great. "I'm a geek, I like to code, I even like to use
spreadsheets when I cook."

Nichelle Nichols, former
NASA Ambassador and Actress

"Science is not a boy's game, it's not a girl's game.
It's everyone's game. It's about where we are and where we're going. Space
travel benefits us here on Earth. And we ain't stopped yet. There's more
exploration to come."

Danica McKellar,
Mathematician, Writer and Actress

"If you're beautiful, you're led to believe that you
can't also be smart. But you can be fun and fit and social and be really smart.
And the smarter you are, the more capable you'll be to handle whatever
challenges come up in life."

Regina Agyare,
Founder of software company Soronko Solutions

"When I was young I was very interested in science and
technology, and my dad brought home the first computer. I played Pac Man and I
was hooked! By learning to create technology, girls learn to speak up."

Weili Dai, Co-founder
of Marvell Tech

"I believe every single woman could accomplish what
I've accomplished."

Peta Clarke,
Technical Lead at Black Girls Code

"Now we're in an age where technology is mandatory, and
we wanted young girls to have this understanding and know how to build an
app."

Dr. Sarah Parcak,
Space Archaeologist

"When I was a kid we'd rent Indiana Jones movies on VHS
tapes. It inspired a whole generation of scholars because we saw the
excitement, and the passion, and the drama. What's amazing to me about
archaeology is the stories are even better than what you see in a Hollywood
movie."

Tuesday, November 11, 2014

Recently, a group of female information technology executives
introduced a brand new initiative designed to encourage women in technology to
become mentors to young women interested in high-tech careers.

“Actions speak louder than words,” said Teresa Carlson, vice
president for Amazon Web Services’ global public sector at FedTalks, according
to FedScoop.
“Today, we decided that, starting right now, starting right here, we’re going
to adopt and mentor either one girl, one woman, one classroom, one school.”

She actually encouraged more than 1,000 members of the audience
to commit to participating in the campaign as well by tweeting #SmartIsBeautiful.
TrendsMap, which monitors trending topics on Twitter, tweeted that the slogan
was trending after the announcement was first made last week.

Touching on some of the challenges of encouraging girls
to pursue careers in STEM, Jennifer Sanchez, assistant director of the IT
Customer Relationship and Management Division at the FBI, said, “Obviously
women are underrepresented in the technical fields. We have to figure out how
we can reach girls before they disengage.”

According to Carlson, while college women outnumber college
men, women only make up about a quarter of the tech workforce. She also pointed
to a project from the Bureau of Labor Statistics that predicts in 2020 there
will be 1.4 million computer science jobs in the U.S. “We need to play catch up
here in the U.S.,” she said.

Vicki Schmanske, vice president for IT and security
solutions at Lockheed Martin Information Systems and Global Solutions, feels
that for women who are already achieving at a high level in the tech
world, it’s important to find a voice. “I see too many women in industry who
try to change who they are to fit in,” she added. “I say be authentic
because being yourself is very impactful.”